Tucked into the main lobby of the Cross Cancer Institute, next to the bookstore and the Sun Room Café, is one of this city’s best-kept fashion secrets. It’s the hospital’s gift shop, which is quietly building a reputation for their selection of wearable, stylish clothing.

Small but mighty, the little store spreads its wares into the adjacent lobby, with racks of garments in chic black and white, along with fresh and seasonable pastels.

For people undergoing chemotherapy, the CCI gift shop has always been one of the go-to places for head gear and scarves. But more recently, the buyers have expanded the selection to include sleepwear, robes and stylish leisurewear, including skirts, tops, jackets and pants, mostly in easy-wear knits.

Selected as much for style as comfort, the clothing has become popular with patients, staff and visitors alike. For some, dropping into the Cross has evolved into destination shopping, long after the excuse of medical appointments or patient visits at the hospital has ended.

Edyth Florence is one of two buyers for the store. She began volunteering at the Cross 26 years ago, quickly finding fulfilling work in the gift shop. For most of those years, she has also been one of its principal buyers. Since 2009, when the store expanded with a stylish new makeover, she and store manager Marieta Mieila have travelled to the Toronto Gift Show annually to purchase clothing and gift items to stock the shelves.

“Over the years we have developed a sense for what works in the store,” says Florence. And they know their clientele.

The two saw a need to balance the hats, turbans and scarves, which had been a mainstay of their sales, with other clothing items, and were encouraged by the response. “We have even added a change room where people can try on the clothing,” says Florence. Given that the store is scarcely more than 200 square feet, that was quite a challenge. Despite the tight quarters, volunteers work hard to present welcoming and attractive displays.

At the outset, garments were selected primarily with patients in mind, so the pieces have easy openings and closures and slip-on waistbands. “Having something new to wear that’s pretty and comfortable goes a long way to helping people feel better,” says Florence. But the clothing lines were so appealing that others began to discover them for themselves. Especially since the price point is low enough to be affordable for most people. The majority of items range between $30 and $100.

Florence loves her volunteer job, with a regular shift of one day a week. “It’s a great place to work,” she says. “I just get to do the fun parts, the buying and working with people I enjoy, without having to worry about salaries or management.”

She is one of more than 350 volunteers at the Cross, who help out in the gift shop, bookstore, Sun Room Cafè and elsewhere in the hospital. Over the years, volunteer efforts in these facilities have netted the hospital more than $5 million in revenue, says Florence. The funding is used to purchase enhanced medical equipment and refurbishing patient areas.

Other stores

The Cross store isn’t the only hospital gift shop that sells clothing. Nearby gift shops at the University of Alberta Hospital and the Mazankowski Heart Institute both have attractive apparel for sale. A phone survey of several other area hospital gift shops reveals that many have expanded into fashion. Each is run by a combination of paid and volunteer staff who do their own buying. So expect to find different styles and selections at each store.

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